Digitizing the Historical Archive in the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, 1830 – 1947

• Applicant: Dr. Dorothea Deterts
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 392655494

The acquisition records in the historical archives of the Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (SMB) represent unique and extraordinary sources for researching the provenance of ethnological objects, as well as for historical and art historical research. The digitization of the archival materials from 1830 to 1947 will make these sources available to researchers around the world in an accessible online databank. The significance of the records extends far beyond the history of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Important legislation during the German Kaiserreich (1871 to 1918), made Berlin a central “clearing house” for ethnological artefacts which were sent to other museums and institutions around the world. The records in the archive therefore document the phase of European colonialism that began in the early nineteenth century. It also documents the effects of these developments in Germany and in other countries and source communities from which the objects were acquired. This project aims to digitize more than 900.000 pages of archival material, which have already been digitally inventoried and cataloged in the museum’s electronic catalog. The material will be decontaminated, repaginated, and digitized. The individual archive files will be made available to the public via the museum’s online portal www.smb-digital.de in METS/MODS XML and PDF/A format. Via the portal it is possible to harvest and further process metadata fields using an OAI protocol. The format of the data as METS/MODS XML and PDF/A permits the use of different viewers and transregional data management systems. The METS/MODS XML data will be uploaded to the DDB.

• DFG Programme: Cataloguing and Digitisation (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Participating Institution: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; Ethnologisches Museum
• Co-Investigators: Matthias Farke; Jonathan Fine; Anja Zenner